11 times South African politicians made us wish 2016 was just a bad dream

This hasn’t exactly been a year of profound political moves from our government, and some opposition politicians haven’t done any better either.

by Ezra Claymore

21-12-2016 12:19

in Lifestyle

The South African government has had a pretty rough ride since Jacob Zuma and his loyalists started entrenching crony politics and replacing a thriving state with one of nepotism, corruption and capture.

While his coup in 2008 did usher in a time of economic, civil and political decay, never before has el presidente and his faction within the ruling party behaved as brazenly as in 2016. But it wasn’t just the ANC that gave us some pretty big WTF moments this year, the EFF had its fair share of foot-in-mouth moments too.

So, check out our list of moments we’d rather forget.

When Malema said the EFF wouldn’t be calling for the slaughter of white people… just yet.
That time Jacob Zuma… the president of the republic, fell asleep during the finance minister’s budget speech in parliament.
Remember when the ANC Women’s League roasted Kwezi when she accused Zuma of raping her… and then tried honouring Kwezi after her death?
That time our minister of international relations told the press she doesn’t know much about Brexit… other than what she’s seen on TV. Well, we’re glad she’s the face of SA abroad.
Oh and there’s the time ANC councillors assaulted DA members while trying to disrupt a council meeting after the ruling party lost control of Nelson Mandela Bay. Not exactly what we want to see, especially considering the losses the ANC is bound to suffer in the 2019 general elections.
When social development minister Bathabile Dlamini said ordinary South Africans can live off R753 a month, while she was spending R11 000 a night living it up at the swanky Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga.
That time the ANC Youth League tried defending Zuma and some ANC members’ relationship with the infamous Gupta family.
Speaking of the Guptas, remember when a report claimed Zuma had been protecting them while they laundered millions in South African tax money through their various businesses?
Staying on the Guptas, who can forget former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report and all the politicians and businessmen it exposed as criminals.
In the follow-up to the State of Capture report, the opposition gunned for another vote of no confidence in the president, in parliament. Once again the ANC caucus protected Zuma, but this time the opposition made a list of people who chose el presidente over SA.
And finally, the pretty obvious politically motivated attack on finance minister Pravin Gordhan by the Zuma camp, and the economic shitstorm it unleashed.